Pruning Your Magnolia Tree: When, Why, & How?

Magnolia trees, with over 80 species, are admired for their robust, leathery leaves and stunning flowers, which can be white or tinged with pink. And while these beautiful trees require little maintenance, pruning your magnolia tree is one task to approach with caution. 

But don’t panic! It’s not difficult; it’s just essential that you’re gentle and don’t go mad with the pruning shears. 

This article is about when, why, and how to prune your magnolia tree for outstanding results (for minimal effort!).

Ready? Let’s go! 

Magnolia tree types: Deciduous vs. Evergreen

Firstly, let’s distinguish between the two primary types of Magnolia trees:

• Evergreen Magnolias: Examples include Little Gem Magnolia, Bracken’s Brown Magnolia, and DD Blanchard Magnolia.
• Deciduous Magnolias: Examples include Ann Magnolia, Jane Magnolia, and Alexandrina Magnolia.

What’s the difference?

Well, deciduous trees shed their leaves in winter, whereas evergreen trees retain their leaves throughout the year. Evergreen magnolia trees are vibrant and full of life, while deciduous trees are lush and dense and grow faster than their evergreen counterpart. 

How does pruning differ for evergreen and deciduous magnolias?

Unlike other garden shrubs, bushes or trees, magnolias generally require very little regular pruning. In fact, it’s typically considered best to avoid pruning a magnolia unless the plant has become overgrown, lost its shape, or has dead or diseased branches.  

Deciduous magnolias 

These trees lose their leaves in the winter, so pruning is rarely required. However, there are some circumstances where you may want to prune:

• Removing dead, diseased, or damaged wood to keep the tree healthy
• Reducing the tree’s size, aiming for a balanced, open crown — thin out the stems to a side shoot or the trunk — but prune gradually over several years to avoid damaging the plant. 
• Renovating a malformed or old tree, spreading the pruning over several years as older trees recover very slowly.

Evergreen magnolias

Never hard-prune an evergreen magnolia. Like deciduous varieties, pruning should be confined to removing dead and diseased wood and shaping young trees shortly after planting them. Remove long branches at the top and remove the lower boughs to encourage a bare stem at the base. 

Why prune your magnolia tree?

Your main objectives when pruning your magnolia tree are: 

• To remove the dead and diseased branches, and 
• Cut back the water shoots — these distinctive fast-growing shoots grow directly upwards. 

Water shoots grow rapidly and zap the tree’s energy and nutrients, leading to disappointing growth. While they proliferate, water shoots offer weak natural growth and will result in poor flowering. 

Bad times.

So, pruning is a tried-and-tested approach to refreshing a tree’s vigour, allowing it to focus its energy towards flowering. 

However:

It’s essential to prune at the right time of year. 

How to train a magnolia tree by pruning

Some evergreen magnolias grow and flower well when trained to warm sunny walls. One particular variety that thrives in these conditions is the M. grandiflora, offering a gorgeous spread across the wall. 

To train your magnolia, follow these steps:

• Attach supports to the sunny wall — use a trellis or horizontal wires, and tie the branches at 45 degrees for the first season, lowering to horizontal for the second. This boosts flowering while helping the branches spread across the wall. 
• Remove in-growing shoots — cut back the shoots growing inwardly towards the wall in the summer and shorten outwardly extending shoots to a couple of leaves. 
• Delay pruning till after flowering

When to prune your magnolia tree

The only time you should prune a deciduous magnolia is after flowering — between mid-summer and the first signs of autumn. If you prune these varieties between late winter and early spring, the branches will bleed sap, negatively impacting the tree’s vitality and potentially attracting pests and insects.

However, you should prune evergreen magnolias in spring, so it’s important to know what type of tree or bush you have.

When to prune young plants 

Trim young magnolias in mid-to-late spring or whenever necessary. This involves shortening young, long branches and removing the lower boughs if they’re growing out of shape. 

Inspect your tree for weak limbs and small or twirling branches that may make your plant appear misshaped. Also, look out for abnormally large branches and remove them!

How to prune a magnolia tree

Both Evergreen and Deciduous Magnolia Trees follow the same principle when it comes to pruning and trimming.

Use hand pruning shears to remove dying, dead, diseased, or weak branches, especially if you have just planted your tree. Cut the branches a quarter of an inch from the side shoot.

Remove suckers and water sprouts, which can inhibit the tree’s growth. 

For thicker branches, consider fork pruning them by removing one of the forked branches back to its junction point. This helps the tree maintain its shape while reducing overall growth.

The essential pruning tools

Typically, pruning a magnolia involves simply removing thin and weak branches, so you should be OK with a set of sharp pruning shears. However, if you’re removing large or thick branches, you might need a saw and a ladder for taller branches. 

And the universal pruning rule always applies: only ever prune with clean, sharp blades. Blunt blades will bruise and tear the plant, leaving it susceptible to disease, while sharp blades produce a clean cut. 

Always clean your tools before and after pruning, using a horticultural detergent suitable for your specific tools. This helps prevent cross-contamination. 

FAQs

Any questions?

Pruning your Magnolia tree correctly and at the right time can ensure a healthy, aesthetically pleasing tree that will be the highlight of your garden for years to come.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or drop us an email. Or check out our Help & Advice section for a range of comprehensive guides to your most challenging gardening and lawn care tasks. 

Happy gardening!

Louis Hooft

Founder & Lawn expert

Introducing Louis Hooft, the founder of MOOWY and your reliable expert. With a profound love for stunning lawns and extensive experience in garden maintenance, Louis is here to assist garden enthusiasts in achieving a greener and livelier outdoors than ever before. Count on Louis for invaluable tips, clever tricks, and top-notch products to make your garden flourish!